"Well, I'm all human, and I like food." Bezmir sat whistling a little tune to himself, tapping his feet along.

He had a feeling everyone would be alright, so he let himself relax, and go back to his whimsical nature. He was drinking again, and he offered a sip to everyone around him.

Zau nodded watching as Bezmir stood. "You're welcome," she said quietly. Her ears perked as the soft tune floated around her. The wolf that had settled in her lap seemed to take notice of it as well and dropped its ears back. A smile forced its way upon her lips as she watched the one wolf playing with Bezmir. It meant no harm to him with its playful antics. A confused expression replaced the smile and she blinked wondering if she had just heard right. She heard Marie repeat the word and she sat on the ground blinking.

How could anyone think of food right after such a battle? The wolf nudged her unmoving hand begging her to continue petting it. Subconsciously she resumed stroking the wolf's fur shaking her head when offered the drink. It felt to her as if her stomach had withered away and nothing remained but empty churning space. Hesitantly she looked back to Marie and Shepherd. Wishing that she could be of more help, she lowered her gaze to the ground.

Even if she did have the right leaves, roots, and plants, Zau didn't think she had enough to fully heal Shepherd's wounds. Even so, she should have worked harder on finding answers sooner. If she had, and she still had come here, and when she had met up with her new found friends, she could have prevented any of them from being hurt. She should have! Unbeknown to her, she crushed a handful of grass.

Bezmir watched Zau clench her hands around a few blades of grass, and he lightly lobbed a rock at her. "Hey, Zau. I don't know what's going on, but just relax. You and the non-eating lady are probably the reason me and Shepherd are still alive. And you looked flabbergasted that I can talk about food now. Well, I'm a man. I've gotta eat." Bezmir stroked the wolf that was still circling him. "If you try to bite me ever again buddy, we're gonna have problems. Your teeth hurt."

Blackness swirled through Shepherd's consciousness. How much of his soul was left? He had given so much to the wolves. How much time was left, Shepherd struggled as if seekeng to pull himself out from underneath the waters of death and take a breath of life and suddenly he felt a hand reach down and pull him out.

His eyes opened to see the appearance of a young girl healing him. Shepherd could see the depth and age in her and knew her looks were deceptive to her power and her experience. He smiled at her gently, "Thank you." He said. The wolves had taken on an air of kindness and were nuzzling Zau and her patient. Bezmir was rapidly brought back to his vivacious nature and life was returned to the wounded bard.

This shouldn't have caused the destruction it did Shepherd sighed. Any other day he should've been able to cast off the threat alone, taking very little damaging and yet two lives had been risked... his own being one of them, and that meant a lot more lives. This meant more than Shepherd wanted to acknowledge.

The group congregated in a small circle with affectionate wolves joining them. Shepherd closed his eyes quickly and reached out to the souls of the wolves.

You are forgiven, now be cautious of welcoming darkness into the light of your soul. You are servants of goodness, protectors of love and warriors for peace now. Live your life like this and you will redeem that taint of evil you have left on these fields.
The message was accepted with joy and they grew more close and warm, cuddled with the four who had fought them together. They looked to each other with kindness and camaraderie now but a great and angry darkness lurked in the air, and something seemed to stain the spirit of the town. Shepherd turned to Bezmir as he asked about dinner. The other two seemed so surprised but Shepherd was not abject to the idea.

"Indeed you may not need to eat but a great task faces those of you who choose to join me. I am not a leader and it is not my quest but the journey and battle of life, one which we have all been called to. I will pass no judgment on those who deny this call but I will answer it and welcome company along this new path which faces me. In the mean time I think sitting down and talking could not hurt. I'm sure we all are bearing numerous questions on our backs seeking answers and I think it would be pertinent to seek these between each other before we look out to this world where shadows can hide in the light of day. Shall we eat?" Shepherd looked from eye to eye of the small group that had formed on the field. What was to come of this, Shepherd knew not but he was sure that there was a new goal which he had come up against, a new evil to conquer and this was greater than all he had previously scattered.

Shepherd looked to the town, he was not sure it was wise to eat there however. He sighed. THere was a storm growing in all corners of the earth and they had been found in its rageful origin. Perhaps they could not yet face any calm or peace however short-lived they had intended for it to be. It seemed darkness had other plans.

Seeing that Shepherd had almost completely recovered, the little, blue haired girl stands. She sets her long hair behind her round ears with her hands, before stepping back, still facing the others.

"Well, I wouldn't suggest staying here." Marie says to the others, "There are many prying eyes..."

Perhaps unspoken, but also felt, is Marie's own sense of distrust. She did not trust others easily, and for good reason; she had much to lose.

"Shall we move to the forest? Don't worry. I am not a sprite, so I cannot bend the forest or anything." Marie suggests.

Bezmir stood up, the wolf still dancing around him, still humming a tune.

"Sure. Let's go. Hey Shepherd, I'll help you get there."

Pressing her the balls of her feet into the ground, she stood up and looked towards the forest. The wolf gave her little space continually weaving between her legs. Her eyes narrowed as she felt a cool wind press upon her back ruffling her hair ever so lightly. After the air had stilled for a few minutes, she took a step nearly tumbling forward over the wolf. "Alright, I'm naming you Root." She stared down at the wolf who looked back at her in return.

Once Zau was sure her bag was secure and nothing was lost, she turned and walked towards the other three. "I'm not leaving," she said directing her voice towards Shepherd. Despite any limitation she may have with her ability, she vowed not to let that prevent her from trying to overcome it. She briefly met Shepherd’s gaze but found herself unable to look into his deep eyes for fear of the emotions that would be revealed.

Her eyes met Marie's and she gave the girl a reassuring nod. She knew all too well how it felt not to be able to trust anyone around or things that may look harmless but were far from it. All other thoughts forgotten, she took a few steps towards the familiar scent and feel of the forest. Root wasn't far off her heels and she kept glancing back to make sure he wouldn't step on her feet. Whatever it was that Shepherd had done, she'd never seen a wolf follow so closely before. Even a pack of wolves usually dispersed rather quickly. This one didn't seem like it was about to leave. She wondered if she encouraged it to stay by naming it. Oh well, she sighed. It's not like I'll be feeding it. She turned towards the wolf, "You do know that right? I'm not going to feed you..."

Root's ears perked and he gave a short bark and circled her. Zau looked over her shoulder and saw a few other wolves following the other members of the group as well. The rest of the pack waited not too far away and also still looking as if they had no intention to leave. She wished she could read their minds for just a few moments. It also made her wonder just who they were following; or if they were following all four of them with each wolf picking a favorite.
"In any case, we should be able to find a decent place to rest, if not sleep," she agreed. "There's a river maybe two miles to the north of here and a small variety of fruits and berries." Although eating meat did not bother her, she would never kill an animal for food. Even though she just bathed the night before, soaking in the river sounded like a very appealing thought. Perhaps even letting her thoughts drown in the water too.

Each step into the forest proved to be more welcoming than the last as the town’s aura got weaker. A grimace flashed across her expression when she thought of a town, not due to the people in the town, having such a nasty aura. Most town’s that she visited she wouldn’t mind going back to for a day or to spend the night but not this one. Even after the evil was eradicated the townspeople were free from their true fear, she still didn’t want to come within the length of a small forest of it. It was incomprehensible to her how those people still stayed there and let their children play.

Bezmir walked with his wolf, playing like a child with a dog. "Oh, so we're naming them? Well, I'm gonna name mine...Frog." He wasn't sure why Frog, it just came to mind. He followed close behind Zau and Root, but far enough away so Frog wouldn't bother them. Then he remembered. He forgot Shepherd.

He ran back and attempted to pick up his friend. They both ended up on the ground. Bezmir winced at his already sore muscles and asked "My gosh, Shepherd. Are you heavy enough?"